by pebble/scifipony
Fandom: Tracker (2024)
Characters: Colter Shaw, Reenie Greene
Words: 2,086
Tags: Friendship, Fluff, Pre-Ship, Denial of Feelings
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Originally posted to FFN and Squidgeworld on October 20th, 2025.
Original Author's Notes: Set early in season 1. I've been rewatching the show again and it struck me just how much their relationship evolves over the series. Early on, they were much more cautious around each other, and more antagonistic. Throughout the early episodes, you can see the slow shift into a more friendly relationship and their banter becomes more playful, and by season 2 they're completely comfortable around each other. I wanted to write something set during that early transitional period, when they're still figuring out how to be friends again after the incident in Ohio.
The tiny sheriff’s substation was minimally staffed, leading to a few disgruntled looks cast Colter’s way when people had to be pulled away from their current tasks — whatever they were — to process his paperwork. He had a feeling some of their ire was also due to the fact that it was well after midnight.
Based on plenty of past experience, Colter tried to remain polite and cooperative through the booking process. It did nothing to ease their attitude toward him.
Finally, he was given a minute to make his phone call. He stood in front of a wall-mounted landline and dialed the familiar number. It was precisely because of situations like this that he’d made himself memorize the numbers for everyone on the team.
“Colter?” It was Velma who answered. “Did you get the address we sent you?”
Ah, so that must have been the text message notification he’d received earlier. The one that had alerted the security guard to his presence. He couldn’t be upset about it, though. Forgetting to silence his phone had been a careless mistake and not at all Velma’s fault.
“No, I’ll check it out later. Uh, Velma, I could use an assist here.”
Teddi’s voice broke in. Velma must have him on speaker. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“I’m fine,” he assured them. The other question was a bit trickier to answer with the deputy standing right over his shoulder. Admitting to his crime wouldn’t be the smartest decision. He settled for, “I need you to call Reenie for me.” He knew they’d be able to decipher that easy enough.
“Colter,” Teddi’s disapproving tone was proof that she had.
“I’m fine,” he repeated. “Just ask her to come out as soon as she can.”
“I’m sending her a text right now to see if she’s awake,” Velma chimed back in. “Even if she leaves right now, though, she won’t be there until morning.”
He already figured on that, knowing she’d have to catch a plane from Denver. Between the flight hours and the time spent in the airport, plus an Uber ride to his current location, she was going to be in for a long trek. He didn’t relish the idea of spending the night in a holding cell, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Reenie just texted back. Velma is giving her a call right now,” Teddi told him. “You’re sure everything else is alright?”
“Yeah, it was more of a misunderstanding than anything else.” He heard the deputy behind him scoff at that claim but knew better than to challenge it. Better to let Reenie handle arguing out the legal points. “I’ve gotta hang up now.”
“Make sure to call us as soon as you’re out.”
“I will,” he promised. They both worried too much about him. It was endearing, but always made him feel guilty about the risks he sometimes had to take on a case. “Talk to you soon.”
“Take care. And try to stay out of any more trouble.”
The deputy escorted him to his holding cell. It was tiny, barely big enough to fit the cot and toilet plus a little standing room. He had a feeling this quiet of a town didn’t see much use for holding cells, beyond the occasional Friday night drunks. At least it was empty.
Knowing he was stuck here for at least the next six hours, Colter decided to pass the time by catching some sleep. He wasn’t exactly claustrophobic, but the feeling of being stuck anywhere had never settled well with him. Better to pass the time unconscious than going crazy in a concrete shoebox.
It certainly wasn’t the best night’s sleep he’d ever gotten. He ended up tossing fitfully throughout the rest of the night, but by morning had managed to grab a few good hours of rest.
Getting up, Colter ran through a few stretches, working the soreness out one muscle at a time — his long frame wasn’t built for tiny jail cots. After that, he transitioned into more of an actual workout. Or, as close to one as he could manage in the limited space.
He was in the middle of a set of push ups when the door to the holding area opened. The clicking of heels over concrete echoed loudly through the space. An involuntary smile broke across Colter’s face — he would recognize that confident stride anywhere — before he tucked it away, knowing it would only piss her off even more.
The footsteps came to a halt outside his cell.
“You know, sometimes I think you like being locked up.”
Colter paused midway through a push up and tilted his head back to look up at her. “How else am I supposed to get you out of the office for a visit?” he said.
“You could always try taking me to lunch like a normal person,” she countered. “It would save me a headache and you an expensive attorney’s fee. A fee which I’ve really earned today,” she added. “I convinced the store owner not to press charges. He understands the motive behind you sneaking into his office, even if he doesn’t think much of your methods.”
Pushing himself to his feet, Colter grabbed his jacket from the cot. “Reenie, you’re the best.”
“Yes, I am. Maybe you could show some appreciation by not getting arrested for the next few weeks. Or at least do it at a more decent hour.”
He laughed. “I’ll do my best.”
There was some paperwork to sign before they could leave. Afterwards, the sheriff came out of his office to see them off, though Colter was pretty sure his ‘try to stay out of trouble’ farewell was more of a thinly veiled threat than a piece of friendly advice.
They stepped out into the grayish light of the overcast morning. Fog had rolled in over the water of the cove, and the freshly risen sun hadn’t fully burned it off yet. The fall weather was chilly without being cold. Colter slipped his jacket on anyway, his t-shirt not offering quite enough of a shield against the damp air.
“Alright,” Reenie sighed, “I’m going to start making arrangements for the first flight out of here. But coffee first.”
“I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t I buy you breakfast?”
Her head snapped around, gaze narrowing on him in surprise. “You’re offering to get me breakfast?”
Colter shrugged. “As a thank you. Count it towards my debt.”
“Oh, this doesn’t even begin to cover what you owe me.” After a second of thought, she added, “But breakfast would be nice. And coffee.”
“You got it.” Colter pulled out his phone. “I’ll see if there’s anything close by.”
“A real diner where you sit down to eat,” Reenie said. “I’m not eating take out in your trailer. Not after spending the last few hours on a cramped plane.”
Admittedly, the idea of eating here in town wasn’t massively appealing. He was tired and sore and badly wanted to retreat back to the Airstream — to home. But he begrudgingly nodded his agreement and checked for any diners that were open at this hour. There was one only half a block away, so they chose to walk the distance, enjoying the quiet of the early morning.
Reenie went inside to grab a table while he made good on his promise to call Velma and Teddi. They were relieved that everything had worked out. Colter told them he’d check in again later and hung up to join Reenie inside.
She’d grabbed a small booth in front of the window, with a breathtaking view of the cove outside. He had a feeling it was intended as a peace offering. After spending the night in a cement box, he wanted nothing more than to get back into the outdoors for a while; it was familiar territory to him, and the only place he truly felt relaxed. While not quite the same thing, he did appreciate the gesture for what it was.
“You know what you’re getting?” he asked, taking the seat across from her.
She passed a menu across to him. “I ordered us coffee to start. Figured we could decide what we’re eating before the waitress comes back.”
The diner was a locally owned place and not very big. Unsurprisingly, the menu offerings didn’t have a lot of variety. The prices weren’t bad, though, so it balanced out.
Their coffee arrived and they placed their orders for breakfast. Reenie raised an eyebrow inquisitively after the waitress retreated with their menus.
“What?” he asked.
“I just didn’t picture you as the sort of person who’d eat pancakes. A sweet and fluffy breakfast doesn’t match the whole rugged, nature man aesthetic you have going on. Figured you were more of the ‘eggs and bacon’ kind of guy.”
Colter tilted his head noncommittally, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her assumption. She must have used up her lawyering energy on getting him free, because she shockingly didn’t pursue it.
She wasn’t necessarily wrong, but pancakes had been his comfort food for as long as he could remember, and he could use a little comfort right now. It wasn’t something he felt he could explain to her, though. They were only recently back to being friends — or, somewhat friendly at least. He wasn’t sure Reenie wouldn’t immediately pounce on that knowledge as an opening to ask more about his family, as she’d done when finding out about Russell. And Colter liked Reenie just fine, but he wasn’t ready to share the Shaw family’s baggage with her. Not yet.
The coffee was good. Strong, but not too bitter. He drank his black, and tried not to stare too judgmentally when Reenie began dumping copious amounts of sugar into hers.
“I need the caffeine,” she defended weakly.
He bit down a laugh and responded as innocently as he could, “I didn’t say anything.”
A peaceful lull settled over their table as they sipped their drinks. It was a companionable silence. The early morning hour meant there weren’t a lot of other customers in yet, mostly a few scattered truck drivers grabbing a bite before hitting the road again. There was something calming about being able to share the quiet with Reenie.
Especially since he knew the rest of his day was bound to be anything but peaceful. He still had a missing person to locate, and this latest lead had turned up a dead end.
“Hmm. I guess arguing you out of a breaking and entering charge is the most fitting way to have spent this morning,” Reenie said after a minute.
“How so?”
“Three years ago today,” she said.
When it was clear she wasn’t intending to elaborate, Colter knew he was expected to fill in the blank himself.
“The first time Velma hired you to help me out,” he said.
She looked mildly surprised. “You remembered.”
“Yeah, well, it’s kind of hard to forget. You lectured me for like an hour afterwards.”
“In my defense, Velma called me in because you’d gotten yourself into such a legally indefensible situation that I was the only hope you had of seeing daylight. You sort of make a habit of that, don’t you?”
“I sense another lecture coming on.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry. It’s far too early for me to bother wasting my breath.”
The waitress returned after a little while to deposit their plates. The food was good, if a bit on the simplistic side. It reminded Colter of the meals they used to eat at the cabin.
“Well,” Reenie commented, stirring her coffee. “This is… nice.”
He knew she wasn’t talking about the food, or her overly sweetened drink. And it was nice. Maybe too nice. Too easy. That fateful night in Ohio flashed through Colter’s mind unbidden before he pushed it firmly aside.
“I’ve been told this is what normal people do,” he joked lightly.
Her expression softened, eyes sparking with amusement. “Technically, I said lunch, not breakfast. But I’ll take it anyway. Provided you wait at least a week before getting into trouble again.”
And, just like that, they were back on familiar ground. The teasing banter that seemed to define their relationship now. It was a safety net, but one he wasn’t about to risk breaking.
Colter raised his mug in a toast. “Happy anniversary. Here’s to many more years of you getting my ass out of jail.”
Reenie laughed and clinked her own mug against his. “And to those lovely attorney fees.”
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